Tennis racket



t. 29 1925. Sep L scHwAm'z TENNIS RAGKB'I Filed lay 5, 1925 1N VNTOR Patented Sept. 29, 1925.

UNITED STAT-Es 'LO'UIS SCHWARTZ, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

TENNIS RACKET.

Application filed May 5, 1925.

To aZZ whom t may concern:-

Be 1t known that I," LoUrs SCHWARTZ,

'a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tennis Rackets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tennis rackets and has a particular reference to racket frames of a laminated construction and provided with reenforcing metal inserts.

The object of my invention is to provide a racket frame which would possess all the advantages of a wooden frame and, at the same time, would be free from defects of ordinary wooden frames and would resist tendency to split or warp.

For this purpose I make the frame of my racket from two or more bent strips of wood, glued or otherwise joined together, with a metal strip between them, this metal strip being of a shape adapted to resist bending and warping.

My invention is more fully described in the accompanying specification and drawing in which- Fig. l is an elevation of my racket frame the stringing or gut being not shown), Fig. 2 is an end View of same, Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l, Fig. 4L is a section of a modified construction, Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are also sections of modified constructions.

My racket consists of an inner strip l and an outer strip 2 made preferably of wood, bent in an oval (or circle) of an ordinary shape, the ends of these strips being joined together in a handle 3 and covered with side plates 4. A throat piece 5 strengthens the throat of the racket.

Strips l and 2 are grooved on the inside so as to encase a metal strip 6. This strip is preferably made of a hard drawn metal in the form of a letter Z. One edge of the Z is imbedded or inserted into the inner strip l and the other into the outer strip 2, thereby helping to keep these two strips together.

The strip 6 is narrower than the wooden strips l and 2, so that the sides of the strips extend beyond the metal strip and are firmly glued together. With this arrangement the racket has the appearance of an all wood racket, no part of the insert 6 being exposed at any portion of the frame.

The holes 7 are drilled through the woot Serial No. 28,109.

and through the strips 6, the latter preventing the frame from splitting along the line of holes. Y

Z-shaped section of the insert strip 6 adds to the rigidity of the frame and to its resistance to the deforming and warping action of the tightly strung gut.

The strip may be made of any rigid material, such as hard drawn steel, hard drawn aluminum, duraluminum or, even, strong composition.

Other shapes of the insert strip may be used, such as a channel as per Fig. 3 or in the form of an I-beam (Fig. 4). The channel 8 does not require any grooving of the outer strip of wood (or of an inner strip if inverted), while the I-beam 8 requires full grooving of both inserts.

A hollow or tubular section l() may be also used (Fig. 5) in a flattened form, or round (l1, Fig. 6). In this case the stilfening eiiect of the insert is greatly increased, so that the racket may be made lighter for the same strength.

Fig. 7 shows an insert in the form of a threaded rod. This construction has an advantage of having a very strong adhesion to the surrounding wood. Similarly a strip with corrugated edges 18 may be used, Fig. 8.

It is evident, of course, that the wood strips may be also formed of several layers glued together.

The insert strip 6 may extend through a portion of the racket only where it needs the reenforcement most, for instance, at the end of the racket opposite the handle.

The throat of the racket may be reenforced with a metal sleeve 14.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a tennis racket, the combination with an inner strip, an outer strip attached to said inner strip, and a reenforcing insert imbedded between said strips and inside of them, said strips with said inserts being bent so as to form a substantially oval frame, the ends of said strips with said inserts being joined so as to form a handle.

2. In atennis racket, the combination with a plurality of wooden strips joined together and bent so as to form a substantially oval frame, the ends of said strips being joined together and extending so as to form a handle, and a reenforcing strip made of a hardma-terial fully inelosed between said strips and inside of them.

3. In a tennis racket, the combination with an inner strip, an outer strip attached to said inner strip, and a reenforeing insert between said strips and inside of them, said reenforeing strip being made of a hard material and of a shape adapted to resist bending, all of said strips being bent so as to form an oval frame with a handle on one end.

4. In a tennis racket, the combination with an inner strip, an outer strip glued to said inner strip, and a reenforeing insert between said strips, said insert being made of metal and of a shape adapted to resist bending, said inner and said outer strips enclosing said insert all around and being bent so as to form an oval frame with a handle on one side.

5. In a tennis racket, the combination with a plurality of strips, glued together and bent so as to form an oval frame with a handle at one end, and a reenforeing. insert of a material harder than wood, said reenforein'g insert extending through a portion of said racket and being enclosed between said wood strips and inside of them.

Signed at New York, in the county and State of New York, this 29th day of May, A. D. 1925.

LOUIS SCHWARTZ, M. D. 

